Daily Archives: May 11, 2012

Teen vocalist Maci McDuffie, an 8th grader at Baker County Middle School, performed at the Suwannee River Jam on May 4-5 in Live Oak along side guitarist Matt Carter, formerly of the band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

She also performed on the same stage as country music legends like Trace Adkins and Randy Travis.

Ms. McDuffie, 14, secured a spot in the event’s line-up by winning the Bradford County Talent Festival on February 24 and auditioning at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, also in Live Oak.

The Glen St. Mary resident will perform on May 18 and 19 at the 4th annual Boots-n-BBQ event at the Bradford County Fairgrounds to benefit Santé Fe Community College scholarships.

She also won Female Vocalist of the year at the 2012 North American Country Music Association Awards in Tennessee on March 15.

Below is The Press’ interview with Ms. McDuffie via e-mail about her show in Live Oak last weekend and her fledging singing career.

The Press: How would you describe your performance at the Suwannee River Jam?

Maci McDuffie: I feel good about my performance, the crowd was awesome and really into the music. After the performance several people asked for my autograph, which was really cool.

Press: What songs did you sing, what are they about and why did you select them?

Lady Wildcat basketball point guard Chelsey Ruise and the softball team’s Taylor Crummey both signed commitments to attend area colleges recently.

Ms. Ruise will be taking her wealth of skills to Edward Waters College next year after signing a scholarship letter on Wednesday, May 2 in the BCHS Media Center.

The entire Lady Wildcats basketball team watched as Ruise penned the contract to join the Lady Tigers. EWC Coach Charmaine Wilson was in attendance and praised Ruise for skills on and off the court.

“I really liked how Coach (Aaron) Summers talked about Chelsey’s leadership and how the team was a family. That’s what we are at EWC, we’re a family,” said Wilson.

Wilson will be entering her second year as EWC head coach and Ruise is expected to step right in and make an impact.

“We brought her in for a workout and they felt that she can come in and do something on the court that they’ve been really needing,” said her father, Wildcat boys’ head coach Charles Ruise. “If she reports in shape and ready to work they think she can have an instant impact.”

Ruise certainly had an impact this season for Summers’ Cats. She was the team’s top scorer with 410 points and a 22-point per game average. But she had more to do on the court than just score.

The Lady Bobcats of Baker County Middle School continued on their winning ways with a 43-6 victory over Wilkinson Jr. High School on January 5.

Delicia Washington led the way for the Bobcats with 22 points. Zoe Hamil and Abby Rice each had 4 points, while Tristan Lauramore had 3, and Tyneisha Reed, Jada Jackson and Lindsey Love each had 2.

Then on January 9, the Lady Bobcats traveled to Hamilton County for their last conference game of the season and came away with a 38-23 win. Washington posted 26 points, Jackson had 6, Love scored 4 and Rice had 2.

The girls finished their season with an outstanding 13-1 overall record, going 8-0 in conference play. They travel to Madison County Middle School to play the Cowgirls in the championship game at 6 pm on January 19.

He was born in Jacksonville to the late Willie E. and Marjorie Van Sickle on January 14, 1950 and was a resident of Baker County for the last 10 years after moving from Jacksonville.

He was a member of Oak Grove Primitive Baptist Church.Dale was employed at the family business of Van Sickle Machine Shop for many years and most recently as a machinist at Liddy’s Machine Shop.

He loved spending time with his family, especially his grand babies. He enjoyed fishing and hunting, was an avid Gator fan and could fix most anything. Dale had an infectious laugh and found the humor in everything. He loved to laugh.